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Battle of the Corridor
|place=Iserlohn Corridor |result=Decisive Alliance victory |side1= Free Planets Alliance |side2= Galactic Empire |commanders1=Ronald Montgomery Manfred II von Goldenbaum |commanders2=Ottokar von Aschbach Wilhelm von Falkenhausen Eberhard von Schlieffen† |forces1=55,000 ships 6.5 million men |forces2=65,000 ships 9 million men |casual1=About 17,000 ships |casual2=About 30,000 ships }} The Battle of the Corridor, also known in Imperial histories as Operation Rudolf, was an attempted invasion of the Free Planets Alliance by the Galactic Empire, launched in early . Prelude The decision to launch a large-scale invasion of the Alliance originated with Grand Duke Ottokar von Aschbach in late . The nobleman sought a major military victory over the Alliance to strengthen his own political standing in the Empire, and possibly even become known for being the one who finally conquered the "border rebels." After persuading Fleet Admiral Wilhelm von Falkenhausen, the Empire's Space Fleet Commander, to go along with it, the two began preparing for the invasion in November 704 UC. Kaiser Helmut, by then old and in ill health, gave his tacit support. However, the information was leaked via Fezzan to the exiled Crown Prince Manfred II, who had been living in the Alliance after a failed assassination attempt forced him to defect for his safety. Manfred had ambitions of taking the throne and reforming the Empire, and was thus considered an enemy by the traditional Aschbach. However, the Crown Prince's ideals found many sympathizers in the Empire, even within the Kaiser's court, who provided Manfred with information on the plan. The Imperial Fleet finished preparations and set off on its voyage to Alliance space through the Iserlohn Corridor on 9 January . Manfred reported the leaked information on Imperial plans to the Alliance government, which immediately mobilized the Free Planets Star Fleet to stop the invasion. The Alliance Fleet set off on January 15. Order of battle Imperial The Empire's order of battle was as follows: *'Supreme HQ Fleet', Grand Duke Ottokar von Aschbach and Fleet Admiral Wilhelm von Falkenhausen, flagship Wulften *'Schlieffen Fleet', Fleet Admiral Eberhard von Schlieffen, flagship Geismar *'Leeb Fleet', Admiral Hugo von Leeb *'Merker Fleet', Admiral Klaus Arno von Merker, flagship Lauterberg *'Reymann Fleet', Admiral Edmund Reymann, flagship Heringen The Imperial mobilization totaled to 65,000 ships and 9 million men. Falkenhausen was the overall supreme commander of the invasion force, with Grand Duke Aschbach as the vice supreme commander. Alliance The Alliance's order of battle was as follows: *'Supreme HQ Fleet', Admiral Ronald Montgomery, flagship Victory *'2nd Fleet', Vice Admiral Alessandro Navarre, flagship Nontron *'4th Fleet', Vice Admiral Raymond Goma *'5th Fleet', Vice Admiral Iman al-Azzabi *'8th Fleet', Vice Admiral Andrei Gubin The Alliance mobilization amounted to 55,000 ships and 6,500,000 men. Along with them were several Imperial exiles acting as advisers, including Crown Prince Manfred II von Goldenbaum, Otto Ferdinand von Horstenau, and Ernst Vincent von Pannwitz. The battle Stalemate The Imperial and Alliance fleets first clashed in the Iserlohn Corridor around 11:00 on 25 January . The Imperials outnumbered the Alliance force and initially wanted to wage a war of attrition to wear down the enemy. Both sides attempted charges and breakthroughs, but on each occasion the enemy managed to hold their ground. The battle lines remained at a stalemate for the first day of fighting, with both sides taking about 3,000 ship casualties. The Imperial Fleet gained more ships the next day as its rearguard caught up to the main force on January 27, bolstering their numbers a bit. However, Admiral Ronald Montgomery, the Alliance supreme commander, saw an opportunity as the new ships arrived. Taking advantage of the disorder of the Imperial formation as they reformed their lines, Montgomery ordered the right wing (8th and 5th Fleets) to charge. Their ferocity took the enemy commander, Admiral Klaus Arno von Merker, by surprise. At approximately 18:20 on January 27, the Alliance ships broke through the Imperial lines, with Merker dying aboard his sinking flagship, the Lauterberg. The Imperial supreme commander, Fleet Admiral Wilhelm von Falkenhausen, was able to plug the gap by rushing reinforcements from nearby fleets, but the Empire took significant losses. Casualties for the day were 7,000 Imperial ships destroyed, to 4,000 Alliance. The resulting losses eliminated any additional numerical advantage that the reinforcements that arrived might have given the Imperial Fleet. Around 05:00 on January 28, the Imperials attempted to break through the Alliance center in order to destroy the enemy's supreme flagship. Admiral Hugo von Leeb's Fleet, along with the remnants of the Merker Fleet, both attempted to break through, and initially made some gains. However, Montgomery's flagship, the Victory, still remained out of reach. Skirmishes continued throughout the next day, but a stalemate remained. Some disagreement occurred on the Imperial side since Grand Duke Aschbach refused to grant ships from his fleet, the rearguard, to take part in Leeb's offensive, fearing for his own safety. Historians later noted that this refusal may have saved the Alliance from defeat during the battle. Imperial offensives stall A second Imperial offensive began on January 30, at approximately 05:30, aimed at the Alliance center. The Leeb and Merker Fleets were joined by Admiral Edmund Reymann's Fleet, which he commanded from the battleship Heringen. The Imperial attack drove through the 2nd Fleet under Vice Admiral Alessandro Navarre, who perished when his flagship, the Nontron, was destroyed. However, a pincer attack from the 8th and 5th Fleets managed to break through the flanks of the Imperial force, splitting from the main fleet. The surrounded Imperial force attempted to breakout, and managed to do so on February 1, but only after losing more the 50% of its vessels. By that point, Imperial casualties were around 25,000 ships, while Alliance casualties were about 14,000. The number of ships on both sides was now nearly the same, with the Alliance having slightly more. On February 2, another Imperial offensive was attempted, this time with all of its forces. The Alliance lines managed to hold at first. The 5th Fleet's sector was broken through, however, around 14:10, with fleet's commander, Vice Admiral Iman al-Azzabi, dying aboard his ship when it was rammed by a damaged allied vessel. The Imperial success was short lived as an Alliance counterattack killed Fleet Admiral Eberhard von Schlieffen, chief of the Imperial High Command, which caused his forces to fall into disarray. After having taken heavy losses, including the death of Fleet Admiral Schlieffen, the Imperial advance stalled. Finally, around 22:30, the Imperial Fleet stopped firing and withdrew from the area. Grand Duke Aschbach, the vice supreme commander of the Imperial forces, wanted to continue the fight 'to the last ship', but Fleet Admiral Falkenhausen decided that nothing more could be gained and ordered a retreat. Aftermath Total casualties for the Empire were about 30,000 ships, or 45% of its fleet, along with about 4 million dead troops. The Alliance lost around 17,000 ships, or 30% of its forces, along with 2 million troops. The operation was viewed as a catastrophe in the Empire, with both Imperial peasantry and nobility alike expecting punishment for those involved. Duke Aschbach was able to avoid the fallout by blaming everything on the surviving admirals, particularly Edmund Reymann, who was a commoner. The casualties sustained made the Imperial Fleet incapable of carrying out major offensive operations against the Alliance for several years, until the Second Battle of Tiamat. The Alliance celebrated its victory over the second Imperial invasion attempt in half a century, with Kornelias I's attack having taken place in . However, the Star Fleet took significant casualties, and it was only after years of rebuilding and recruiting before it could carry out major operations. The victory also made the Alliance government more confident about going into negotiations with Manfred II if he became the Kaiser and started peace talks as he promised, with the results of the battle giving them a better negotiating position. Category:Battles of the Alliance–Imperial War